HCMC's Tan Son Nhat airport is overrun by air travelers returning from the Tet holiday on Feb. 5, 2022. Photo: VnExpress

Vietnam records 14,105 new local Covid cases

Vietnam on Sunday recorded 14,105 new local Covid-19 cases in 56 cities and provinces and 63 deaths.

The three localities with the highest number of cases are Hanoi with 2,797 cases, Da Nang with 927 cases and Quang Nam with 853 cases.

The Health Ministry announced another 63 deaths due to Covid-19 on Sunday, including seven in the Mekong Delta's Ben Tre, six in Ba Ria-Vung Tau bordering HCMC, five in the Mekong Delta's Vinh Long, and four each in HCMC, Da Nang and Bac Ninh. The death toll in Vietnam has climbed to 38,327, or 1.6 percent of all infections.

The country now has 168,469 active patients, and 2,203 of them are severe, cited VnExpress.

6,802 Covid-19 patients were announced recovered on Sunday, bringing the number of recovered cases to 2,112,715 cases.

Vietnam has recorded 192 cases with the Omicron variant to date, with 92 of them in HCMC.

Of its 96-million population, 74.2 million have received two vaccine shots and 28.8 million have received three.

Sci-tech development decisive to national competitiveness

Amid difficulties and challenges caused by Covid-19 pandemic which are forecast to persist this year, sci-tech development and innovation are still considered a decisive factor to improve national competitiveness, promote rapid and sustainable national development.

Directing 2022 tasks, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam stressed that the science-technology sector must design a mechanism to develop start-ups as part of the innovation ecological system.

Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat asked the entire sector to focus efforts on rolling out the sci-tech and innovation development strategy for the 2021-2030, with a focus on the national start-up and innovation ecological system.

According to him, the ministry will continue studying and proposing a pilot mechanism to develop sci-tech enterprises in research institutes and universities in the spin-off model, connect universities and research institutes with industrial parks and firms to step up commercialization of research results.

Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

Dat stressed that with over 3,000 start-ups, Vietnam ranked third in Southeast Asia in terms of having a dynamic and innovative start-up system, only behind Indonesia and Singapore.

The E-Conomy SEA 2021 report released by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company on November 10, 2021, showed that capital flows into Vietnam’s start-ups soared in the first half of 2021 to an all-time high 1.37 billion USD, focusing on e-commerce, finance, health care and education, according to VNA.

Preliminary statistics by the Foreign Ministry’s State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs showed that about 50 Vietnamese intellectual associations and networks have been established abroad. Over 500,000 experts and intellectuals are working for foreign research institutes and universities in most key areas. They are an invaluable resource to help start-ups expand markets, call for capital and pool brainpower globally.

This year, the ministry will work to turn universities into real sci-tech research hubs. It is partnering with the Ministry of Education and Training to build a draft decree regulating sci-tech activities in tertiary educational establishments. At the same time, the ministry will continue hastening administrative reform in combination with e-Government building, using technological advances in sci-tech management to ensure openness and transparency.

Vietnam to make historic Women's World Cup debut

Vietnam will attend the 2023 Women's World Cup for the very first time after a 2-1 victory in the play-off against Chinese Taipei on Sunday.

Playing in DY Patil Stadium in India, Vietnam opened the score in the seventh minute as Chuong Thi Kieu accurately headed the ball into the rival's net after receiving a corner pass from Tuyet Dung.

The goal boosted the fighting spirit of the Vietnamese women for the remainder of the match.

Vietnam players celebrate their win at the Women's World Cup play-off with Chinese Taipei on February 6, 2022. Photo: Asian Football Confederation

Goalkeeper Kim Thanh's net was shaken in the 20th minute after a wrong pass by Phuong Thao. Taiwan's brightest star, Su Yu-Hsuan, made the pass to Chen Yen-Ping who cushioned the ball into goal. The move was disallowed by the referee since the ball had already been out of touch.

In the second half, Vietnam focused on defending, with Kieu successfully blocking many attacks, reported VnExpress.

Taiwan managed to equalize in the 50th minute. Wu Wai-Ching ran past many Vietnamese defenders before passing the ball down for Su Yu-Hsuan to finish.

But only six minutes later, Vietnam regained the lead. Thanks to Thai Thi Thao's precise pass, Bich Thuy managed to kick the ball straight into the opponent's net.

The final whistle of referee Yoshimi Yamashita created a historic moment for Vietnamese women's football, with the team bound for 2023 Women's World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand in July next year.

Vietnam purchases 21.9 million Pfizer doses for children aged 5-11

The Government has agreed to purchase 21.9 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 for children aged 5-11, according to a Government resolution released recently.

The Government approved the contractor selection in special cases specified in Article 26 of the Bidding Law for the purchase of the vaccines.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) will be responsible for organizing the purchase and deployment of Pfizer vaccination for the children in a scientific, safe and effective manner, cited VOV.

Children aged 5-11 will be vaccinated against Covid-19 shortly in Vietnam, using the Pfizer vaccine. Photo: VOV

The MoH is currently working with suppliers to ensure that it will acquire enough vaccines for the children as soon as possible.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the MoH has consulted the World Health Organization and learnt from foreign experience concerning vaccination for children from 5 to under 12 years old.

Currently nearly 40 countries worldwide have planned or implemented vaccination for these children. The World Health Organization has officially approved recommendations for the Pfizer vaccine for children of this age group.

The vaccination campaign for these children will be carried out cautiously and voluntarily with top priority to be given to safety, said Dr. Long.

To date more than 182 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in Vietnam, including over 74 million second doses and nearly 29 million third doses.

Snow rain covers Mount Fansipan in Lao Cai

A light rain mixed with snow occurred on Mount Fansipan in Sa Pa township, the northern province of Lao Cai on February 6, lasting about 10 minutes in the early morning.

According to Director of the provincial Hydro-meteorological Station Luu Minh Hai, the temperature in Sa Pa, a popular tourist destination in the north, fell sharply from the night of February 5 to under 10 degrees Celsius.

On the top of Fansipan, the highest mount in Indochina, the temperature was under zero degree Celsius, resulting in a thin ice layer on the ground of the mountain from the height of 2,800m.

Hai said that rain and snow mixed is precipitation composed of rain and partially melted snow. Unlike ice pellets which are hard, this precipitation is soft and translucent, VNA reported.

A light rain mixed with snow occurred on Mount Fansipan on February 6. Photo: VNA

Despite the freezing cold weather, a large number of tourists still flocked to Fansipan on February 6 to enjoy snowfall.

The provincial Hydro-meteorological Station forecast that the temperature will continue lowering on February 6 night and February 7, with possible ice on Mount Fansipan.

Locals are advised to apply measures to protect crops and livestock against the bad weather.

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